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Encounter at Farpoint (episode)
The crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise-D is challenged by Q, an omnipotent extradimensional being, to solve the mystery of a strange base in a civilized fashion. (Series Premiere) Summary Act One The year is 2364. Captain Jean-Luc Picard takes command of the new starship, the , the fifth Federation ship to bear the name. The ship is about to embark on its first mission to Deneb IV, beyond which lies the great unexplored mass of the galaxy. Picard, in his log, notes that he is impressed with the size and complexity of the ship as he walks through the Enterprise, surveying engineering, then finally enters the bridge, manned by tactical officer, Lieutenant Natasha Yar, Lieutenant Worf, Counselor Deanna Troi and Lieutenant Commander Data. Picard continues with his log, in which he reports that the ship is en route to Farpoint Station and that the ship is short in several key positions, most notably a first officer, but Picard is informed that a very experienced officer, William T. Riker, will fill the position. Picard sits at his command chair and makes an off-hand comment on how Starfleet wants the crew of the Enterprise to "snoop" around Farpoint station, to which Data makes an inquiry into the definition of the word snoop. Picard wonders how Data, a complex android with encyclopedic knowledge does not know the meaning of a basic word like "snoop". Data responds that he possibly was not designed to emulate this type of Human behavior. Picard says that it means "to spy, to sneak." Data responds, "Ah, to seek covertly, to go stealthily, to slink, slither, creep, skull, pussyfoot, gum..." "Yes" Picard interjects, to which Data finishes, "...shoe." Suddenly, Counselor Troi senses a powerful mind. The ship then goes to red alert, with the familiar alert sound blaring through the bridge. Then, conn officer Lieutenant Torres reports that there is something strange on his detector circuit. A large field begins to appear in front of the Enterprise, which reads as solid. Picard calls for Yar to turn off "that damned noise!" and go to yellow alert. Picard orders helm to make the ship come to a full stop. Soon after this, a white light shines on the bridge and a humanoid emerges, dressed from 16th century Europe. Picard asks the being to identify itself. The being notes that he is called "Q" and walks around the bridge, while Torres discreetly takes a small phaser out from the bottom of his console. Q, however senses this and freezes Torres before he can fire. Q, after showing his ability, warns the crew of the Enterprise to go back to Earth or they shall most certainly die. Later, Q then changes into many costumes of Earth's eras, including the late 20th century (1980s) in the guise of a United States Marine Corps captain he takes the typical pose of a Marine with a cigarette in his hand. "Actually, the issue at stake is patriotism. We must go back to your world and put an end to the commies. All it takes are a few good men." Picard tells Q that that kind of nonsense is centuries behind them. Q brings up that Picard cannot deny that Humans are a dangerous, savage child race, which Picard denies, saying that Humans have made rapid progress in only a few centuries. Q then changes again, thinking Picard and his crew will be able to identify with the period that he next embodies, that of a soldier in the late 21st century, where Q notes that Humans learned to control their militaries with drugs. The other officers, not amused with Q's behavior, attempt to make him leave, but Q keeps on heaping disapproval on Humans, noting that when they finally reached deep space, they found enemies to fight out there as well, which Q says is "the same old story all over again." Picard says that Q is the same old story they have been seeing, beings who prosecute and judge for things they can't tolerate. Q notes that "prosecute and judge" is an interesting concept. He then begins to leave, but notes that he will be back and will proceed the way Picard suggests. Act Two Picard, who gets many suggestions from his senior staff, orders that no stations on the ship will make audio transmissions, in an attempt to catch Q off guard, with Picard noting, "Let's see what this ''Galaxy-class starship can do." Picard orders Worf to head down to engineering and have them prepare for maximum acceleration. Picard also asks Data if it is possible to perform a saucer separation at a high warp velocity. Data notes that the separation is inadvisable at any warp speed, however, it is possible, but there can be no margin for error. Worf returns from engineering, with the report that engineering is ready, and takes the helm. Picard orders "''Engage", and the ship turns away from Q's force field and warps away. The entire force field collapses into a ball and heads towards the Enterprise. The object is at high warp speed, at warp 9.6, and the Enterprise increases speed accordingly. However, the object is increasing speed. Data notes that the Enterprise may be able to match the object's 9.8 warp, but at extreme risk. Picard, seeing no other alternative, calls out to the entire ship, "Now hear this, to all sections, on all decks, prepare for emergency saucer sep." The bridge officers are shocked at this new order. Picard asks Worf to command the saucer section, while Picard commands the battle section. Worf stands up from his conn station and tells Picard, "I am a Klingon, sir. For me to seek escape when my captain goes into battle...", to which Picard bluntly overrules him and reminds him that he is a Starfleet officer. Worf grudgingly agrees. Picard, along with Yar, Troi, and Data take the bridge's emergency turbolift to the battle bridge. of the Enterprise-D]] The Enterprise's corridors are filled with crewmembers and families leaving the stardrive section to the saucer section. Picard, Data, Yar and Troi enter the battle bridge, with Chief Miles O'Brien manning the conn. First, Picard orders that Yar fire photon torpedoes towards the object. Yar complies and the torpedoes are away. Shortly after, Picard orders that the countdown to saucer separation begin. Data counts down, and the ship separates while at warp. The stardrive section turns around and heads towards a confrontation with Q. The stardrive section arrives to see the torpedoes hit the object, however, it has no effect. Picard asks Troi to send out a message in all languages that they surrender. Then, the stardrive section is soon encompassed by a sphere-shaped force field and bright white light surrounds the battle bridge. Now, Picard, Troi, Data and Yar are taken to a World War III-style courtroom, which Troi reveals that everything that is happening is real, even the soldiers with lethal weapons. The magistrate orders everyone in the courtroom to stand as the judge enters. The judge is revealed to be Q, who charges Humanity with being a grievously savage race, to which Yar is unable to control her anger and starts to berate Q. Q then freezes Yar, the same way he did to Torres. Picard asks Q to thaw out Yar, which he does, much to the crowd's displeasure. Picard pleads not guilty to Q's charges. Q does not take kindly to this and has two soldiers aim their weapons at Data and Troi and order them to pull the triggers if Picard says anything other than guilty. Picard, forced into a tight spot, admits that there is evidence to support the court's contention that Humans have been savage. Therefore, he asks Q to test the crew of the Enterprise to see if this is presently true of Humans. Q is fascinated by this idea and tells Picard that the Farpoint station will be an excellent site for this test. Picard, with his crew are transported back to the battle bridge, where O'Brien has been the entire time. O'Brien claims that he has heard that Farpoint is a rather dull place but Picard hears that it might be rather interesting. Act Three On Deneb IV, Commander William T. Riker walks to Groppler Zorn's office. Riker has just been dropped off by the for his new assignment. He talks with Zorn for a while, and Zorn asks him if he would like a piece of fruit off of his desk. Riker looks for an apple, but cannot find one. Then, a bowl of apples shows up on Zorn's desk, which Riker swears could not have been there two seconds ago. Zorn assures him that it has been there the whole time. Riker then leaves eating the apple, while Zorn says "You have been told ''not to do that. And if you do that again, we will have to punish you. We will! I promise you!" Meanwhile, at Farpoint Station, Riker meets up with Dr. Beverly Crusher and her son Wesley. The younger Crusher is eagerly anticipating joining the ''Enterprise. Riker asks Dr. Crusher if there is something useful they can do while they wait for the ship to arrive. For example Riker tells Crusher about the apple incident at Zorn's office, which Dr. Crusher dismisses as Riker attempting to pull favor with the captain, as she is shopping. She sees a purple bolt and says that gold would look great on it, then five seconds later, gold appears on the fabric. and Beverly Crusher contemplating a strange situation]] Dr. Crusher later apologizes to Riker and that she looks forward to meeting Picard, which Riker wonders if she knows the captain. Wesley solemnly tells Riker that when he was a child, Picard brought his father's body back to them. Dr. Crusher notes that it was a long time ago and ends the conversation. Riker tells Wesley that he'll see him on board. Riker then meets up with blind Starfleet officer Lieutenant Geordi La Forge, who makes an official report that the Enterprise has arrived, but with the stardrive section only and that Captain Picard has requested his presence. Riker taps his combadge and is beamed up to the Enterprise, where he is greeted by Lieutenant Yar, who escorts him to the battle bridge. Riker arrives and is not greeted warmly by Picard, who tells him to watch the video of Q, so he'll know what the ship is facing. Picard leaves the bridge for the ready room and asks Riker to enter once he is done watching the recording. Riker enters and Picard asks Riker to perform a manual docking of the stardrive section and the saucer section, a difficult task. The saucer section enters orbit of Deneb IV, ready for reconnection. Riker asks O'Brien to adjust the pitch angle, then assures that the stardrive's inertia should finish the job. Riker orders the lock up of the stardrive and saucer, and thus the Enterprise is reconnected. In the ship's briefing room, Picard discusses with Riker during an incident on the planet Altair III, when he refused to let Captain Robert DeSoto of the USS Hood beam down, seeing that a captain's life could be in danger. Picard asks him if he intends to back down from that policy. Riker confidently says "No, sir." Then, Captain Picard formally welcomes Riker on board the Enterprise and shakes his hand. Riker enters the bridge of the Enterprise for the first time, when he inquires to Lt. Worf as to the location of Lieutenant Commander Data. Worf reports that Data is on assignment, escorting an admiral around the ship, who took a shuttle to the Enterprise. When asked why the admiral couldn't have just beamed over, Worf responds, "Well, I suppose he could, sir, but the admiral is a rather... remarkable man." In a corridor, Admiral Leonard McCoy, conducting an inspection, claims that Data wanted his atoms scattered all over space, however Data claims that with his age, he should not have to bother with the time and trouble of a shuttlecraft. McCoy asks Data how old he thinks he is. Data reports quickly that he is 137 years old. McCoy wonders how he can remember that so exactly. Data replies that he remembers everything he is exposed to. McCoy sarcastically says that Data may not have pointed ears, but that he sounds like a Vulcan. While continuing to walk down the corridor, McCoy tells Data to treat the Enterprise like a lady and that it will always bring him and the crew home. Later, on the bridge, Q appears on the Enterprise's main viewscreen and tells Picard that his time is running out. Riker then tells Picard about objects appearing when thought of on the planet. Picard is a bit skeptical about Riker's observations and orders Counselor Troi to join him and Riker on an away mission, which results in an awkward reunion between Troi and Riker, her Imzadi. Act Four Picard meets Zorn, but Zorn immediately becomes fearful since there is a Betazoid at the meeting. Troi assures Zorn that she is only half-Betazed and that she can only sense strong emotions in people. She then feels a strong flood of emotions coming from somewhere, pain and loneliness. Picard begins to leave, and tells Zorn that the Federation may not protect Farpoint anymore, to which Zorn says that the station may become vulnerable to species like the Ferengi, to which Picard replies, "Let's hope they find you as tasty as they did your past associates." Later, on the Enterprise-D, Riker finally meets Data in the ship's holodeck, where the android is in a forest program trying to whistle Pop Goes the Weasel. Data and Riker take a walk, then Wesley Crusher enters the program and trips on a loose rock and falls into a pond. Data runs over and grabs him out. As Picard is walking down a corridor, he runs into the three, with Riker stating that he is leading an away mission down to Deneb IV. Riker then leads a team to explore more of Farpoint Station, with Yar, La Forge, Data and Troi. They go underground into tunnels, where Troi again senses great despair and pain. Suddenly, a ship appears and begins attacking the surface of Deneb IV where the Bandi have taken residence and have seemingly kidnapped Zorn. It attacks the Old Bandi City rather than the station, however. Riker and the away team beam over to the entity and see that its corridors are exactly the same as the underground tunnels on Deneb IV. Riker and his team find Zorn suspended in mid-air. Riker fires his phaser and frees Zorn. Then, they beam over to the Enterprise. Picard arms phasers in response to the attack. Q reappears and encourages Picard to destroy the ship. Then, Picard realizes that this is part of the test, insisting on knowing why the attack is occurring. He uncovers the truth; the Bandi have captured an alien lifeform, a space-dwelling being, and have constructed Farpoint Station and its goods by feeding off its power. The ship in space is not in actuality a ship, but rather, the alien lifeform's mate. Picard assists the captured alien entity by using the Enterprise's deflector in breaking free of its bonds, thus solving the mystery, much to Q's dismay. Q then retreats, though he hints that it won't be the last time the crew sees him. With the Farpoint mission over, the crew settles in, with La Forge taking helm, Riker assuming his duties as first officer and Dr. Crusher as chief medical officer. Picard wonders what Riker is thinking about. Riker wonders if all their missions will be like their first. Picard assures him that he doesn't think so - they will be much more interesting. Picard orders Lt. La Forge to set a course, "Let's see what's out there. Engage." Thus, the Enterprise warps away from Deneb IV and onto their new mission of exploration of the galaxy. Log Entries * [[Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2364#Farpoint Mission|Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2364]] * Personal log, Jean-Luc Picard * Personal log, William T. Riker Memorable Quotes "Shut off that damn noise! Go to yellow alert." : - Picard, after the red alert sounds for the first time "Sir, sickbay reports Lt. Torres' condition is better." "Oh, concern for one's fellow comrade! How touching." "And now a personal request sir, permission to clean up the bridge!" : - Worf and Q''' "Let's see what this ''Galaxy-class ship can do!''" : - '''Picard "Now hear this! Maximum, you're entitled to know, means we'll be pushing our engines well beyond safety limits. Our hope is to surprise whatever that is out there, to try and outrun it. Our only other option is to tuck tail between our legs and return to Earth as they demand." : - Picard "You barbarians!" : - Deanna Troi, to courtroom audience after Q uses his freezing power against Tasha Yar "I don't see no points on your ears boy, but you sound just like a Vulcan!" "No, sir. I am an android." (grunts) "Almost as bad..." : - Admiral McCoy and Data "Well this is a new ship, but she's got the right name. Now you remember that, you hear?" "I will, sir." "You treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home..." : - Admiral McCoy, to Data, referring to the Enterprise "If we're going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are." : - Picard "Some problem, Riker?" "Just hoping this isn't the usual way our missions will go, sir." "Oh no, Number One. I'm sure most will be much more interesting. Let's see what's out there. Engage." : - Picard and Riker Background Information * This marks the final television appearance of DeForest Kelley before his death on , discounting his appearance in , which was archive footage from the original series. * Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien) and John de Lancie (Q) are the only actors, besides the regulars, to appear in both this episode and the finale . Denise Crosby (Natasha Yar) also appeared in both episodes, but she was no longer a regular at the time of the finale. * Colm Meaney is the only actor to appear in both the pilots and finales of TNG and DS9. * In the UK on Sky One, this episode is incorrectly listed as being the last in the series. * The very final scene is the only time Tasha Yar can be seen wearing the skirt style uniform. * Industrial Light & Magic did the special effects only for this episode, but was also credited for the rest of the series because footage was continuously reused. * This episode is the first mention of the Ferengi Alliance on Star Trek. * The diamond-shaped chrome shelf unit in the Farpoint Mall set comes from Kirk's apartment in . * This episode contains no teaser. Instead, it begins with the opening credits. * This episode is the only one with the credits scrolling up instead of the text fading, as was done in the other 177 episodes. * In its original airing, the main cast were credited only with their names and not alongside their character's credits as they were during the run of the series (as in "Patrick Stewart" instead of "Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard", etc.) * Picard describes the facsimile 2079 court created by Q as "...one that agreed with that line from Shakespeare: 'Kill all the lawyers.'" This is a line from Shakespeare's play Henry VI, Part II. * On close inspection, the drug dispensers that Q and his fellow soldiers from World War III wear as part of their uniforms are labeled "Army R2D3PO-D", a reference to the Star Wars 'droids R2-D2 and C-3PO. * This is one of the few episodes where the vertical blinds in Doctor Crusher's office in sickbay are opened and several windows with a starfield behind them can be seen. In later episodes when the blinds were opened, like and , a corridor with several doors was seen behind the window. * In this episode, Data states that he graduated from Starfleet Academy in the Class of "'78," which, given TNG's establishment in the 24th century, could be either "2278" (meaning Data would have been in Starfleet for 23 years at the beginning of the 24th century) or "2378." However, this contradicts the dating that has since been established for TNG – Data himself specifically states in that the Earth year at that time was 2364. In addition, other episodes established that Data was not built until 2336 and that he had graduated from the Academy in 2345. Data's "Class of '78" comment has thus been deemed a continuity error and it can only be speculated as to what it could mean from an in-universe perspective. * A similar continuity issue arises with Dr. Crusher's statement to Riker that her duties and interests are "outside the command structure." The subsequent episodes and establish her competence to command, and later still (in ) we learn that Crusher took the Bridge Officer's Test voluntarily and actually enjoys taking the bridge occasionally. * This episode marks the first time that a saucer separation is ever seen on screen. While the Enterprise separated three more times (at least on screen) ( , and ), "Encounter at Farpoint" is the only time the reconnection process was ever seen in Trek. * In this episode only, the central biobed in sickbay is seen without a cushioned covering similar to how it appeared in . In later episodes, the transparent biobed surface is covered by a fabric cushion the size and shape of the biobed. * Apparently at some point during this mission, Geordi La Forge told Data a joke, which the humorless android did not "get" until years later, when he activated his emotion chip during the events of . * A deleted scene includes footage of tentacles which reach out of a wall of the alien lifeform and grabbed for Troi and Riker. The producers decided these special effects looked horrible and removed the scene from the episode. (StarTrek.com) * The episode was nominated for a Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation." Apocrypha When Groppler Zorn threatened to give access to Farpoint Station to the Ferengi Alliance, Picard remarked that he hopes the Ferengi find Zorn as tasty as they did their past associates. The novel The Buried Age establishes that the Ferengi's early reputation as a dangerous race was merely propaganda established by Zek because the Ferengi, after hearing early reports about the Federation and their moneyless economy, decided that the Federation might well be insane if they truly did not seek profit. Zek also threw funding into a large military buildup in order to preserve their appearance as a dangerous race and in order to defend themselves against the Federation, should it prove necessary. Production history * Second draft script: * Final draft script: * Filming began: * Filming completed: * Premiere airdate: * UK premiere (BBC2): Related merchandise * Novelization: * Soundtrack: Video and DVD releases * UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 1, catalogue number VHR 2261, * US Laserdisc: * As part of the UK VHS release Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Full Length TV Movies: Volume 1, catalogue number VHR 4101, * US VHS 1st release: * Japan Laserdisc: * As part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek - 30th Anniversary Trial Pack: * US VHS 2nd release: * UK Laserdisc: * Germany Laserdisc: * UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 1.1, catalogue number VHR 4642, *As part of the US VHS collection Star Trek: The Next Generation - Q Continuum: . * As part of the TNG Season 1 DVD collection. * As part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete TV Movies collection. * As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Q collection. Links and references Main cast *Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard *Jonathan Frakes as William Riker *LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge *Denise Crosby as Natasha Yar *Michael Dorn as Worf *Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher *Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi *Brent Spiner as Data *Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher Guest stars *John de Lancie as Q *Michael Bell as Zorn Special guest appearance by of Starfleet Medical, "Bones" McCoy]] *DeForest Kelley as Admiral Leonard McCoy Co-Starring *Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien (credited as "Conn") *Jimmy Ortega as Lt. Torres *Timothy Dang as a bridge security officer *Evelyn Guerrero as a female computer ensign *David Erskine as a Bandi shopkeeper *Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as the Mandarin bailiff *Chuck Hicks as a drugged military officer Uncredited Co-Stars *Brad Phillips as a Starfleet command lieutenant *Unknown actor as a bell ringer References 16th century; 20th century; 2036; 2079; 2227; Altair III; Altair system; android; apple; away team; Bandi; battle bridge; battle section; Betazed; Betazoid; bioelectricty; bridge; century; cigarette; chief medical officer (CMO); combadge; commie (Communism); Crusher, Jack; cultures; Deneb IV; Deneb system; DeSoto, Robert; detector circuit; Earth; EM spectrum; encyclopedia; energy beam; engineering; ''Enterprise''-D, USS; exobiology; Farpoint Station; feedback; Ferengi; force field grid; French language; fruit; ; geothermal energy; groppler; gymnasium; Henry VI, Part II; hologram; Holodeck Area 4-J; holoprogram; ''Hood'', USS; Humanity; imzadi; intercom; joke; judge; Klingon; LCARS; lifeform; Livingston; main viewer; maneuvering jets; narcotics; New United Nations; old Bandi City; perimeter alert; phaser; photon torpedo; Pinocchio; planet; Pop Goes the Weasel; post-atomic horror; primate; Prime Directive; primary hull; probability mechanics; Q (species); Q Continuum; red line; saucer module; saucer separation; secondary hull; security chief; Shakespeare, William; sickbay; snoop; Sol System; space station; species; stardrive section; Starfleet Academy; startime; star system; transporter; transporter chief; trial; Turkana IV; Turkana system; United Earth; United Federation of Planets; United States; US Marine Corps; VISOR; Vulcan; woodland pattern; World War III; year; yellow alert Other References NCC-7100; Turbolift 2 External links * * }} Category:TNG episodes de:Der Mächtige es:Encounter at Farpoint fr:Encounter at Farpoint nl:Encounter at Farpoint pl:Encounter at Farpoint sv:Encounter at Farpoint